COUC 860 Counseling Leadership and Advocacy

This doctoral level seminar course is designed to foster professional identity as a counselor educator and leadership/service to the counseling profession. There is a focus on leadership principles and theories, including their application to counselor education. Students will work for a self-reflective model in order to discover and assess their own leadership skills and potential and to consider how that potential can be applied to their field of counselor education. Professional, ethical, social, spiritual, and religious advocacy issues are also addressed throughout this course.

As leaders in the field of counseling, the counselor educator is a steward and gatekeeper of the profession. As such, he/she is not only tasked with the training of master’s level practitioners; but is called upon to provide leadership and service to the counseling profession. As such, it is essential that the doctoral student develops a professional identity as a counselor educator in the areas of leadership and service to the counseling profession and become active participation in the ongoing process of counselor education. The class will also help the student become informed about current developments within the counseling profession, examine ethical and social advocacy issues, and identify opportunities for leadership in the profession.

Method of Instruction: This semester-long course is delivered using an in-person synchronous intensive format. The student will attend 36-40 hours of classroom-based instruction at our campus in Lynchburg, VA. In addition to the one week of in-person synchronous class time, the student is expected to complete additional work online both pre- and post-intensive over the duration of this course.

Readings and lecture presentations

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Professionalism and Participation Assignment

The standards of preparation and contribution to the overall discussion are significantly high for the doctoral student and his/her full engagement in the co-creation of this experience is expected. This course is structured so the student will learn not only from the textbook/readings, but also from his/her peers. Becoming a counselor educator is a process, so it is important to establish a professional attitude and demeanor in a doctoral program. As a doctoral student, he/she is responsible for active and respectful participation in class activities. Therefore, the class participation grade will be based on the student’s (a) contribution to discussions, (b) contribution to the learning experience of the student’s classmates; (c) attending class and being on time, (d) active participation in all in-class activities, (e) completion of and bringing to class the assigned assessments/results and presentations (see Appendix A). Every class session will be structured in a similar manner and will include a combination of experiential learning, lecture, discussion, and:

In-Class Activities: The student will participate in a variety of exercises designed to help him/her learn the principles of leadership and advocacy. The student will participate in leadership and advocacy activities and group projects. He/she will also be involved in other self-awareness and self-learning activities throughout the course. (CLO: A, D, G, H, J, L)

Group Discussions (5)

The purpose of this assignment is to give the student an opportunity to interact with fellow doctoral students in a collaborative manner. The student must read the assigned textbook readings (16 total) and respond in-depth to selected prompts in a group discussion board. The student is expected to demonstrate the ability to integrate the information from the chapters; (b) interact with at least two group members posts; and (c) demonstrate an assimilation of the new information. See Assignment Instructions for more details about the assignment, including the Discussion Prompts. (CLO: A, B, D, E, F, G, H, J, K)

Benchmark Personal Philosophy of Leadership and Advocacy Assignment

As a future counselor educator, the student will be a leader in the profession as well as an advocate for groups and individual clients. As such, it is essential that the student is able to develop a personal philosophy of advocacy and leadership. After examining the various theoretical approaches and models of leadership and advocacy, the student will write a 3–6 page reflection paper describing his/her personal philosophy of leadership and advocacy. The student will also develop a personal action plan for leadership based on his/her philosophy of leadership. The student will submit this assignment in CORE and Canvas. (CLO: A, B, J, L)

Benchmark Leadership Interview Assignment

The student will interview someone (face-to-face or virtual platform) whom he/she considers to be a leader in the counseling profession. The student will then write a 3–5 page summary of the interview, including his/her personal reaction to the interview. The student will submit this assignment in CORE and Canvas. (CLO: B, C, F, G, H, J, L)

Benchmark Social Justice Action Plan Assignment

The student will develop a personal social justice plan based on Lee’s (2007) five personal action steps (maximum 3–5 pages). This assignment will be submitted in CORE and Canvas. (CLO: B, I, J, L)

Advocacy Project Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to give the student experience with planning and implementing counseling advocacy initiatives at the program, department, and/or the institutional level, incorporating principles of leadership and advocacy. Using the ACA Advocacy Competencies, the student will develop activities to reflect the advocacy competencies. Because of the nature of leadership, we will collaborate for the topics during the class. This will allow the student to develop a project that is personally relevant within the context of the current needs of the program, department, institution, and/or the profession. (CLO: A, D, F, G, H, I, J, K, L)

Advocacy Project Presentation Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to give the student experience with disseminating his/her advocacy project. The student will present his/her overall project proposal in class. The presentation will be tailored for relevance to an audience of counselor educators in a faculty meeting. (CLO: A, D, F, G, H, I, J, K, L)

The Quiz: Dispositions Reflection will ask the student to rate himself/herself on the nine dispositions required for this program by our accrediting bodies. This quiz consists of 9 multiple-choice questions and 1 essay question, allows for one attempt, and has a time limit of 1 hour.